Road to recovery palpable as debris removal resumes

The high-pitched sounds of heavy machinery grinding against metal are abuzz in the air around what used to be one of Superior’s most bustling neighborhoods.

A mere four months ago, sidewalks of the Sagamore subdivision might have been filled with residents out on evening walks, neighbors checking mail and children riding bikes in the street.

Now, the neighborhood is bustling with another kind of activity: debris removal.

After months of setbacks, meetings and one dismissed lawsuit, the coordinated private property debris removal process is once again underway.

On Monday, almost four months after the Marshall fire tore through parts of Superior, Louisville and unincorporated Boulder County, the county began rolling out crews to clear the rubble and ash left behind in the fire’s wake.

Joy Cassidy, a Sagamore resident, went to watch as crews began raking through her property, which was among the first to be worked on since the debris removal process resumed. She knew it would be the last time seeing the pieces of what had once been her home.

“It’s kind of a relief that we’re going to be able to move forward, and it’s scary at the same time,” Cassidy said.

“It’s been extremely stressful,” she said about the rebuilding process.

“We thought that the debris clearance was going to start right away, and then it got postponed and delayed. You know, things are always coming up.”

Residents in Superior, Louisville and unincorporated Boulder County have expressed frustrations with the pace of the debris removal in the aftermath of the fire, especially as the clock ticks on additional living expense coverage, which under most insurance policies, terminates after 12 months.

However, the path to debris removal has been rocky. On Feb. 15, a nonprofit led by a former FEMA director filed a lawsuit against the county, citing a lack of transparency from the county in the process of selecting a contractor to carry out debris removal.

The lawsuit, though ultimately dismissed, impeded the debris cleanup process for several months.

Despite the setbacks, Louisville Mayor Ashley Stolzmann expressed hope the resumption of cleanup will mark a turning point in the recovery process. “I’m sure for many people outside of our community, the Marshall fire feels like something that happened months ago, but for us it has been a lifechanging 109 days since the fire.”